AASL b There – Your Virtual Track Pass

Vodcast – Designing Space for the 21st-Century Learner

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:52:17 +0000

- Margaret Sullivan

Virtual libraries are a high school experiment, not a foregone conclusion. Space planning for school libraries is changing, but it is not time to panic. It is a time to understand concepts and models, to participate in the discussion, and to create new, inviting library spaces that support 21st-century learners. In this session we will look at floor plans and furnishings that provide flexibility, and support collaboration and integration.

Podcast – Designing Space for the 21st-Century Learner

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:07:41 +0000

- Margaret Sullivan

Podcast – Graphic Novels, Photo Essays and Illuminated Term Papers: Communicating Deep Understandings

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:02:32 +0000

- Annette Lamb

From math comics to history e-scrapbooks, bring class assignments, student projects, and instructional materials alive with 21st century approaches across the curriculum. Learn how free and inexpensive technologies are used to produce graphic mini-novels and digital comics, illuminated term papers, visual science reports, photo essays, and other engaging alternatives to traditional student projects. Explore innovative ways to address standards for 21st century learners while motivating reluctant students and promoting a love of reading and writing.

Podcast – Retrofitting School Library Spaces for the 21st Century Learner

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:59:37 +0000

- Margaret Sullivan

If the library room doesn’t work, retro-fit it! You do not have to have a new building to establish spaces that complement new learning models; you just have to be creative. In this session, we will look at how moving a wall or changing floor plans and furnishings can provide flexibility, collaboration, and integration. We will talk about how you can bring your existing school library into the 21st century.

Podcast – You want me to do what? The role of the school library media specialist in the teaching of reading

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:50:18 +0000

- Sandra Andrews, Linda Gann

School library media specialists do a lot to help students select the right book and to motivate them to read, but have you ever wondered if you have a role in the teaching of reading? Virtual demonstrations and group discussions will guide participants in the creation of activities and strategies for integrating reading instruction in the media center. (Please note that the volume for this recording is slightly low and you may need to increase your volume.)

Podcast – 2.0 Learning Tools Smackdown

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:37:49 +0000

- Joyce Valenza, Robin Williams

This interactive, energetic, sharing session will highlight the best new tools in a variety of categories. Members of a panel will share their top picks and invite audience members to contribute by coming to a central microphone. All ideas generated will be added to a session wiki and shared with the community.

ELMSS Symposium

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:46:28 +0000

The Educators of Library Media Specialists Section (ELMSS) of AASL is pleased to present its first research symposium at AASL National Conference. As educators, scholars, and researchers, ELMSS members create new knowledge about the school library field and impart that knowledge to the profession’s newest members. The topic for the symposium is the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, released in 2007. The standards are the basis for curriculum development and implementation in school libraries. The symposium will open with a look at school library curricula past and present, and an overview of the standards. The group will be forming research teams to develop, present, and critique questions for substantive research on the implementation, teaching, and learning of the new standards. The work will continue as research teams formed at the symposium will continue to work to begin the research. “The Standards for the 21st-Century Learner present a unique research opportunity for school library scholars. The standards are new and different from previous information literacy standards, and there is much to learn from careful observation and study of how the 21st-century learners learn the skills, responsibilities, dispositions, and self-assessments needed to become the effective users of ideas and information envisioned by the school librarians.”

Discussion on Intellectual Freedom

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:41:18 +0000

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Acting Director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, will talk with OIF Program Coordinator Jonathan Kelley about “Minor’s Rights in School Libraries.” Among the questions to be addressed are the status of the First Amendment for minors in schools and school libraries, how to cope with challenges to library materials, privacy of student records and FERPA, and Internet filtering.

Turbo Charge Your Resources: More Stuffs

gwyneth — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:57:07 +0000

Hi! Had such a great time presenting my Session: Turbo Charge Your Resources: Fabulous Freebies, Great Gadgets, & Sweet Sites that Go the Distance! AKA Gadget-A-Go-Go!

Everything i went over and MORE can be found on 3 different wikipages! Click on the images below for:

There were a few things i didn’t get a chance to get to highlight…

See the Kick YouTube Wiki for the below graphic & MORE!

See the Adding Widgets Wiki for the below graphic & More!

Thank you everyone for the great feedback & kind words for my first national presentation…i was so excited & a little nervous! i can’t add you all to my wiki cause i made it for my Murray Hill Middle School teachers & staff and adding members means that you intend to change my pages or add to them…but they’re all public and i invite you to link back, copy or use anything i’ve created within the limits of fair use!In other words, Feel free to snag ANY of my graphics! if you can, just give me a teeny tiny wee link back is all i ask! But my thought is, never re-invent the wheel! Cheers!

Contact information:

Email: gwynethanne@gmail.com

Follow Me on Twitter: gwynethjones

Professional Blog: Library Media Tech Musings

Electronic Portfolio: Gwyneth Jones

Flickr Feed: info_grrl

For a peek into My Steampunk Second Life as Capt. Red Llewellyn

Keep in touch! Always feel free to drop me a line! Follow me on Twitter but note that i’m not on as much since my county blocked it (it used to be my lunchtime personal PD practice) find me in Second Life

also mirrored on my Library Media Tech Musings Blog!

L4L Survey

NancyW — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:08:12 +0000

The Learning 4 Life committee, tasked with creating AASL’s plan for implementing the Standards for the 21^st Century Learner has been busy at this conference sharing successes. Hopefully, you’ve had the opportunity to attend some of their great sessions! They are seeking your help in answering a few questions as they continue planning to meet your needs. Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey found at this link. Thank you!

AASL Smackdown chatlog, tweets, & wiki

leperez1 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:35:53 +0000

You can see the chatlog of the AASL Web 2.0 Smackdown at http://www.chatzy.com/353457979132. In addition, search the Twitter hashtag #aasl2009 for more tweets about this event. To see information about the tools featured at the Smackdown, go to http://aaslbloggerscafe.wikispaces.com.

Blogger’s cafe continues!

Frances Harris — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:10:38 +0000

Some great sessions coming up this afternoon at 4:00 and throughout the day tomorrow. Check out the schedule!

Blogger’s Cafe

leperez1 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:56:04 +0000

Stop by the Blogger’s Cafe to share ideas and meet your colleagues! We are located just past the Registration area in the corner by the escalators going down the the Exhibit Hall. See periodic Unconference Sessions as well. Also, don’t miss the “2.0 Learning Tools Smackdown” at 11:30 am ET in rm 207AB. Participate in the back channel chatstream, videostream and via Twitter. See www.twitter.com/leperez1 for the links prior to the session.

AASL in Charlotte: Beautiful, Dynamic & Gracious

gwyneth — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:46:59 +0000

AASL2009 Charlotte ….4,000 school librarians gathered to learn from each other and to build their personal learning networks…and to just be with their peeps. Brilliant!

Buffy Hamilton talking at the Bloggers’ Cafe which has already made a mark. Standing room only (until we got more chairs!) and upwards of 50 people all hanging out. AWESOME! A great place to chill, re-charge your laptop, meet new people, talk about hot topics (like flexible vs. fixed schedules) and share ideas. as Laura said: “Open Mike for Geeks” now if only we could have a strong, reliable Internet wireless connection in that corner life would be GOLDEN! Gah!

The Geek Squad!

I’m presenting my Gadget-A-Go-Go session this morning at 9:30: excited & a little nervous. Worried about connectivity – was very frustrating yesterday…..took some doofy movies with my digi cam back at the hotel…i really hope i won’t have to show them. shaky dark cam….talk about Paranormal Technology! LOL and i’m super excited about the Library Tools Smackdown today!!

Revving up in Charlotte

leperez1 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:48:18 +0000

I’ve arrived at Charlotte and am currently at the opening General Session with speaker Danah Boyd. I’m hearing many powerful ideas about social networking which I’ll post here soon. You can also follow me on Twitter at leperez1.

It’s Thursday @the Bloggers’ Cafe

Joyce Valenza — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:37 +0000

What’s not on today’s schedule?

The unconference features:
10:00 AM Wendy Stephens on Teen Online Behavior
11:00 AM Joyce Valenza and Buffy Hamilton on PageFlake pathfinders
2:00 PM Robin Williams on video making.

Don’t forget to tag your SlideShare slides and other stuff: aasl2009
Check the Cafe schedule regularly. Some slides are already up.

Add yourself to the Travelers map

“Where There’s a Widget, There’s a Way”: The Video

BuffyH — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:36 +0000

AASL conference junkie

Alice Yucht — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:35 +0000

I’ve been to EVERY AASL conference — and am now looking forward to new ways to cyber-connect to the sessions I can’t get to in person! It will be interesting to see if the b_there site works, or if we’ll need to find workarounds like the http://aaslbloggerscafe.wikispaces.com site instead.

Spectrum Scholarship and Presidential Initiative

dianerchen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:33 +0000

I posted information to the SLJ blog, but you might have missed it so let me put a few details here. I am encouraging everyone to contribute to the Spectrum Scholarship program. I will personally match your donation up to the first $100 total so your donation is worth twice as much today. See me or drop by ALA Member pavilion in the Exhibit Hall for Spectrum Presidential Initiative donation forms and Spectrum Supporter ribbons.

Preconference Musings

NancyW — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:32 +0000

I can’t believe I am finally on an airplane headed for AASL in Charlotte! It seems like just yesterday we were assembled in Reno and witnessing the unveiling of the AASL Standards for the 21^st Century Learner. We were all abuzz, with so many questions, and certainly some doubts about how we could implement these new standards in our schools. How could we get buy-in from our teachers, who seemingly just came around to understanding the importance of integrating information literacy into their instruction? And – are these really standards? They look so different – what is meant by “dispositions in action” and “responsibility?” How can these be standards? How can we teach this?!

Fast forward 2 years. We’ve come a long way! We’ve come to understand the power behind these standards as a roadmap, leading us to collaboratively design -with classroom teachers- environments and instruction that allows students to develop and build important 21^st century skills.

As AASL 2009 gets started, I believe many will be eager to view examples of best practices with integrating these standards – and a quick glance at the conference schedule suggests that this conference will deliver! There are many L4L Sessions being offered that will help deepen your understanding of the AASL Standards in Action, such as:

Friday, November 6

9:30 “L4L: A Give & Take Opportunity”

11:30 “Retrofitting School Library Spaces for the 21^st Century Learner”

2:15 “Model the Model: Four Step Lesson Design From Standards in Action”

4:00 “Nudging Toward Inquiry: Evolving Instructional Design One Step at a Time”

Saturday, November 7

8:00 “Empowering Learners: Unpacking the Guidelines”

10:15 “Teaching the New Standards and Guidelines to Preservice and Inservice LMS”

1:00 “The Library Media Specialist’s Role in Reading”

I’ll look forward to sharing my thoughts with you as I continue my personal learning journey at AASL2009, and hopefully engaging some of you in conversation here on the Learning Times site, or via Twitter – follow me at http://twitter.com/NancyW. See you at AASL!

Exploratorium presenters!

Joyce Valenza — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:32 +0000

Don’t forget to tag any Exploratorium content that you store in third-party sites like Flickr and SlideShare, with aasl2009!

Table discussion around advocacy

valeriediggs — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:32 +0000

Table discssions, round one, from Treasure Mountain Research Retreat, at the Charlotte Public Library. Advocacy is perceived as another pile on the mountain of work SLMSs have to do, according to Ann Ewbank, researcher from ASU. Only 6% of respondents (381 total) report a “high” level of success with their advocacy efforts. Many report lack of time to advocate for their program(s), lack of resources, and lack of support.

Ann’s survey was distributed through LM_NET and the New Jersey School Library Association. A full 25% of respondents have no time to advocate, and have never done so.

Don’t forget to tag!

Joyce Valenza — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:32 +0000

Presenters, I just set up a SlideShare widget. If you use SlideShare, and would like to share your slides on the feed , don’t forget to tag: aasl2009.

Preview the widget on this Bloggers’ Cafe page.

AASL Convergence: Simon Misses Clank – Webisode 3

gwyneth — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:28 +0000

Clank’s friend Simon is despondent over his hopping a space freighter and going to the #AASL2009 Conference in the uptown city Charlotte in the land of North Carolina. Join us and b There!

Click picture above or HERE for AASL Clank Webisode 3
Poor Simon……I hope Clank makes it to Charlotte and remembers to Tweet using Hashtag #AASL2009! Stay tuned!…..More webisodes from Charlotte and the AASL Conference once Clank gets there! Cheers!

~gwyneth

reposted from my Library Media Tech Musings Blog

Metadata, Media, and the “Discovery Layer” of Research

Tom Adamich — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:22:25 +0000

Hi, Everyone:

…Hope everyone has safe travels to Charlotte — both physically and virtually!

We are at an exciting time in our history as teacher-librarians. Our role as “conductors of information discovery/evaluation/utilization” has been developing nicely for the past decade. We are fortunate to be able to bring our knowledge of the roles that “context” and “relationships” play in successfully satisfying information needs through effective acquisition, review, processing, and presentation of material content.

During one of the lone metadata/discovery sessions of the conference – Riders in the Stream: The Role of School Libraries and Metadata in Enabling Dynamic Streaming Media-Based Instruction – we will attempt to give you a sense of how context and relationships (driven by the connections we make with words, sounds, and visual images) can help you better support curriculum and possibly look at cataloging metadata and the online catalog in a new way.

Question: How many of you teach students how to search using boolean logic and Library of Congress Subject Headings (or other sources of descriptive terminology? {PLEASE RESPOND USING THE ” POST A COMMENT ON THIS WALL” AREA AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST. ALSO, PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING POLL TO HELP THE AASL CONFERENCE PEOPLE GATHER DATA FOR FUTURE CONFERENCES:)Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

We also hope to make the connection to some important concepts related to streaming media and metadata — learning objects, media literacy, visual literacy, etc.

Our concurrent session will be on 6 Nov. 2009 in 203B of the Charlotte Convention Center from 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM EST. We will also conduct a webinar on 5 Nov. 2009 from 12:30 – 1:30 PM EST (which will be available for viewing for up to one year following the conference for those who wish to take advantage of the Univ. of Colorado – Denver’s outstanding AASL b-there Course Offerings for Credit Option – contact Su Eckhardt from UC-Denver at the following:

sueckhardt@earthlink.net

su.eckhardt@ucdenver.edu

http://www.ucdenver.edu/schoollibrary

phone 303.979.7799

fax 303.979.7788

In the meantime, take a look at the following relative to an example of streaming media; how would you describe this clip:Cosworth

Also, take a look at these resources relative to learning objects:

“Riders in the Stream – Streaming Media and Metadata”

What Are Learning Objects? By Robert J. Beck, PhD

*Logo courtesy of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning. Their “Learning Circuits” website (including a comprehensive glossary developed by Eva Kaplan-Leiserson and available at http://www.learningcircuits.org/glossary , promotes the understanding of e-learning, creating a body of knowledge about how to use technology efficiently and effectively for learning.

Three Prominent Characterizations
- “modular digital resources, uniquely identified and metatagged, that can be used to support learning”
  - National Learning Infrastructure Initiative
    - NLII now endorses Wiley definition
- “any digital resource that can be reused to support learning”
  - David A. Wiley, “Connecting Learning Objects to Instructional Design Theory”
    - “The main idea of ‘learning objects’ is to break educational content down into small chunks that can be reused in various learning environments, in the spirit of object-oriented programming”
- “[A]ny entity, digital or non-digital, that may be used for learning, education or training”
  - IEEE 1484.12.1-2002, 15 July 2002, Draft Standard for Learning Object Metadata, IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC)
  - http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/files/LOM_1484_12_1_v1_Final_Draft.pdf

- One Slightly Lengthier Characterization

Adapted from the Wisconsin Online Resource Center (WORC):

- - Learning objects are a new way of thinking about learning content. Traditionally, content comes in a several hour chunk. Learning objects are much smaller units of learning, typically ranging from 2 minutes to 15 minutes.
  - Are self-contained – each learning object can be taken independently
  - Are reusable – a single learning object may be used in multiple contexts for multiple purposes
  - Can be aggregated – learning objects can be grouped into larger collections of content, including traditional course structures
  - ***Are tagged with metadata – every learning object has descriptive information allowing it to be easily found by a search

Other Characterizations:
- Nichani, Maish. “LCMS = LMS + CMS [RLOs] – How does this effect the learner? The instructional designer?” elearningpost. http://www.elearningpost.com/articles/archives/lcms_lms_cms_rlos/
- Shepherd, Clive. “Objects of Interest,” TACTIX, December 2000. Published in IT Training, February 2001http://www.fastrak-consulting.co.uk/tactix/features/objects/objects.htm
- Wiley, David. “The Post-LEGO Learning Object,” November 5, 1999. http://opencontent.org//docs/post-lego.pdf
- Wiley, D. A. (2000). “Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy,” in D. A. Wiley, ed., The Instructional Use of Learning Objects: Online Version. Retrieved May 18, 2001, from the World Wide Web: http://reusability.org/read/chapters/wiley.doc

Center for International Education
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/CIE/
UW-Milwaukee – Milwaukee, WI 53201

Talk to you soon; take care.

Tom

Tom Adamich, MLS

President

Visiting Librarian Service

Senior Executive Consultant

Mitinet, Inc.

P.O. Box 932

New Philadelphia, OH 44663

330-364-4410

vls@tusco.net

toma@mitinet.com

The wonder of the blogger’s cafe

Frances Harris — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:21:23 +0000

When we began planning this, I couldn’t quite visualize it. People spontaneously presenting on a corner of the conference center floor? Who would come? Who would want to present? Well, I’m sitting here now, looking out at a packed space, folks sitting on the floor, folks standing around the periphery. Already this morning, we’ve heard from Wendy Stephens about what teens are actually doing online and now Joyce Valenza and Buffy Hamilton are sharing the magic of online pathfinder building. Yes, there have been some technical glitches. As those have arisen, participants have jumped up from the crowd and shared stories, tools, experiences, grant successes. So, no dead time. To find out what’s coming up, visit the blogger’s cafe wiki. Also, be sure to check reports on the Twitter stream, using the hashtag @aasl2009.

Here’s a quote from Joyce Valenza that I think captures the spirit of this gathering: “The smartest person in the room is not the person with the microphone. The smartest person in the room is the room.”

Avoiding the Bulldozer (or Raking) Approach: Questioning for Research Success

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:59:42 +0000

Session Title	Avoiding the Bulldozer (or Raking) Approach: Questioning for Research Success
Scheduled Time	Friday, Nov. 06, 2009, 2:15p – 3:30p
Location	211/212
Track	Teaching and Learning
Grade Level	K-3; 4-6; Middle/Junior; High
Target Audience	Library Media Specialists, Administrators, Classroom Teachers, Library Supervisors, Technology Coordinators, Higher Education, Curriculum Specialists, Public Librarians Working with Children and Youth, Students
Level	Basic
Presenter(s)	Gerry Solomon
Description	Information is easily "piled" by students and can reach impressive but useless proportions! Information gathering becomes more targeted when students use essential and supporting questions to guide their research. Participants will collaborate to create effective questions and learn about a variety of free questioning resources to share with teachers in collaborative planning meetings. A resources list will be provided.

MILE Guide Release

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:24:53 +0000

Session Title	Mile Guide Release
Scheduled Time	Friday, November 6, 2:15p
Location	202
Track	Teaching and Learning
Grade Level
Target Audience
Level	Intermediate
Panelist(s)	June St. Clair Atkinson, Superintendent of Public Instruction, North Carolina; John Wilson, NEA; Dave Schroeter, Gale, Cengage Learning; Bill Harrison, North Carolina State Board of Education Chair; Valerie Greenhill, Partnership for 21st Century Skills
Description	Join us for the release of the MILE Guide by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Those in attendance will be the first educators to see these important resources in their final form. The MILE Guide is a resource created for educators and administrators to help them in measuring the progress of their schools in defining, teaching and assessing 21st century skills. Along with the MILE Guide, the Partnership will be releasing several implementation papers that will offer best practices on building 21st century standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development and learning environments. There will also be a robust question and answer and discussion session. Members of the Partnership, including Valerie Greenhill, director of strategic initiatives for the Partnership, and others will be on hand.

Book Banning in 2009

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:22:48 +0000

Session Title	Book Banning in 2009
Scheduled Time	Saturday, November 7, 8:00a – 9:15a
Location	202
Track	Teaching and Learning
Grade Level
Target Audience
Level	Intermediate
Presenter(s)	Carrie Gardner, Deborah Caldwell-Stone
Description	Efforts to remove or restrict access to books and materials in school libraries continue to be a major concern. This program will feature prominent authors of books that are frequently banned or challenged in schools discussing their works and the controversies that have surrounded them. Additionally, experts from the American Library Association will discuss how best to deal with challenges and complaints; creating strong policies to protect librarians, teachers, and students; and resources available to those facing challenges.

Nudging Toward Inquiry: Evolving Instructional Design One Step at a Time

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:17:22 +0000

Session Title	Nudging Toward Inquiry: Evolving Instructional Design One Step at a Time
Scheduled Time	Friday, November 6, 4:00p – 5:15P
Location	202B
Track	Teaching and Learning
Grade Level
Target Audience
Level	Intermediate
Presenter(s)	Kristin Fontichiaro
Description	Evolving Instructional Design One Step at a Time How do you move closer toward achieving the inquiry goals of the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner if the school culture doesn’t already embrace inquiry? Seeking evolution — with one small change at a time — can be a way to slowly move toward inquiry with reluctant or inexperienced teachers. We’ll examine an inquiry model for learning then look at how to tweak a lesson in several ways to move the students closer to an inquiry-oriented experience.

Reporting the Research: What Does School Library Research Tell Us?

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:15:44 +0000

Session Title	Reporting the Research: What Does School Library Research Tell Us?
Scheduled Time	Friday, November 6, 11:30a – 12:45P
Location	202
Track	Teaching and Learning
Grade Level
Target Audience
Level	Intermediate
Presenter(s)	Carol Gordon, Marilyn P. Arnone, Ruth V. Small, Rebecca Reynolds, Sherry R. Crow, and Karla Krueger
Description	Top researcherrs will deliver papers chosen through a juried peer-review process. The papers will reveal current research findings, and the discussions will address the implications of these findings for school library practice. Marilyn P. Arnone, Ruth V. Small and Rebecca Reynolds. Developing the PCIS (Perceived Competence in Information Skills) Measure for Eighth Grade Students. Syracuse University Sherry R. Crow: Exploring the Experiences of Upper Elementary School Children Who are Intrinsically Motivated to Seek Information. University of Nebraska Kearney Karla Krueger: A Case Study of a Rural Iowa School Preparing to Meet New State Guidelines for School Libraries. University of Northern Iowa

Only One Page

dmcordell — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:00:12 +0000

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

I’ve always loved to travel – it’s in my genes.

One of my favorite childhood books recounted the escapades of Richard Halliburton, a globetrotting adventurer, who did everything from retracing Ulysses‘ voyage throughout the classical Greek world, to swimming the Panama Canal, to flinging himself into the Mayan Well of Death (twice!). I still treasure a battered copy of Richard Halliburton’s Complete Book of Marvels that my father purchased before I was born.

A few weeks ago, I visited Milwaukee and Green Bay with my son. Tomorrow, I’m setting off for Charlotte to attend the AASL’s Rev Up Learning conference.

While online interaction can be a satisfying way to expand your horizons, there is still a certain glamour and excitement in physical journeys. Some things need to be experienced in real life.

So I’m off to meet new friends, greet old ones, talk and eat and tour and take pictures. I love my home, but I need these Journeys to satisfy the wanderlust in my soul.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

“Lady’s Airship” by Coffeelatte

Uptown Charlotte: Places to Eat & Things to Do!

gwyneth — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:28:58 +0000

We’re Going Uptown!
apparently 20 years ago the Queen City of Charlotte decided to change the name of its city center and name it Uptown rather than Downtown…as “a way to help civic leaders promote the upbeat, positive attitude of the Queen City.”

The Charlotte – Mecklenburg Story – History Timeline

Cool things seem to go on ALL the time uptown…from a recent blog about Charlotte Restaurant Week …(which we just missed, doh!) a lot of the uptown restaurants participated in specially priced dinner deals…and even though the week is over…the website sponsored by Uptown Charlotte Magazine gives a snapshot at some of the best places to eat in uptown Charlotte…WITH menus & parking (maps!) information!

From Steaks to Sushi….Brazillian Rodizio to Seafood and Southern fare…all in about a 12 block radius.

Aquavina
Blackfinn
Blue
Chima Brazilian Steakhouse
Capital Grille
Ember Grille
Enso
LaVechia’s
Fiji
Luce
McCormick’s & Schmick’s
Mez
Mimosa
Morton’s, The Steakhouse
Ratcliffe on the Green
Room 112
Sonoma
Therapy
Zink

If you play Buzztime trivia [cough cough] there’s Picasso’s Sports Cafe within walking distance of the Convention Center that has it and good pizza, too!

Also check the b There! thread Exploring Charlotte

from a recent posting in the CityData.com forum:

Places to go…

ScanFest in the Wachovia Atrium
New Harvey Gantt Center for African-American Art: Harvey B. Gantt Center
Museum of the New South: Levine Museum of the New South

Places to eat…

Steak & Seafood Restaurant Charlotte NC, Uptown Charlotte Restaurant | LaVecchia’s
MEZ
Harpers Restaurant

Credits:

Food & dining photos from Uptown Charlotte Magazine

Artsy Uptown Charlotte photo by Casting Shadows

reposted from my Library Media Tech Musings Blog

Creating Conversations with Participatory School Librarianship

BuffyH — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:17:48 +0000

Are you interested in creating conversations in your library to facilitate student learning and teacher collaboration? Do you see your library as more than just a place of information objects? Do you want your library to be about experiences and not just “stuff” in the library?

If so, I would like to invite you to my session, Not Just Another Brick in the Wall: Engaging 21st Century Learning Through Participatory School Librarianship, that will take place on 11/06/09 from 2:15PM to 3:30PM. It will be located in room 213BC of the Charlotte Convention Center. We will be engaging in our conversations about how to create conversations for formal learning and the AASL Standards for 21st Century Learners as well as creating conversations with your library community using traditional and Library 2.0 tools.

Right now, the final presentation materials are under wraps, but they will be posted by 10PM Tuesday evening, November 3, 2009 at http://theunquietlibrarian.wikispaces.com/aasl2009. Once posted, you will be able to preview the slidedeck and presentation links as well as a Google Moderator session I have created as a medium for you to pose questions.

You are encouraged to bring a laptop to the session, but it is not required. You may also want to bring your cellphone for a fun activity as well as your creative energy for some hands-on activities I hope to do with you as a guest in the session.

If you plan to Tweet my session, please use the #aasl2009 hashtag as well as this hashtag just for my session: #plaasl2009. I hope to see you there!

Buffy J. Hamilton
http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com

Attention Law for School Librarians Preconference Attendees or Those Interested in This Topic

HelenA — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:55:44 +0000

Hi,

For those registered for the Law for School Librarians preconference, here are URL’s to several key intellectual freedom documents for you to check out.

ALA Library Bill of Rights: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/statementsif/librarybillrights.cfm

Library Bill of Rights (LBOR) Interpretations: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/statementsif/interpretations/default.cfm

ALA Code of Ethics: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/codeofethics/codeethics.cfm

I invite you to especially check out the newest LBOR interpretations — Minors and Internet Interactivity and Services to People with Disabilities. In anticipation of the publication of the 8th edition of the Intellectual Freedom Manual, all of ALA’s intellectual freedom policy statements were reviewed. Many of the LBOR interpretations were updated during the past two years.

All of the presenters of the Law for School Librarians preconference are looking forward to seeing you on Thursday morning, Nov. 5 from 8:00-12:00

FYI You can still register for this preconference if you have not already done so.

Helen

Library 101

dmcordell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:44:17 +0000

Library 101

Library 101 is a multimedia collaboration project started by Michael Porter & David Lee King.

The video features over 500 library professionals from around the world and can be found on YouTube as well as the project’s home site.

Guests on the Library 101 essay page – everyone from President Brack Obama to Library and Information Science professor Meredith Gorran Farkas – were asked to articulate “what they see changing in libraries and what we need to be doing to ensure we remain relevant as technology and society evolve.”

Enjoy the vision.

Library 101

The Essence of Civilization

dmcordell — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:39:56 +0000

“Sharing is the essence of teaching. It is, I have come to believe, the essence of civilization.” -Bill Moyers

Next week, members of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and their guests will gather in Charlotte, NC for Rev Up Learning.

In addition to a full program of keynotes, concurrent sessions, and workshops, there will also be the Unconference, an informal gathering where volunteers and attendees can trade tips, discuss problems and solutions, and connect on a very satisfying human level.

The One Book, One Conference selection is Born Digital, by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser. One of the authors’ key points is that “there’s an unnecessary technology gap between young people and many of their parents and teachers.” Palfrey and Gasser recommend that “Parents and teachers…start by putting in the time it takes to understand how the digital environment works so that they can be credible guides to young people.”

The Unconference offers a perfect opportunity to stretch and grow professionally, particularly in the areas of technology integration and information fluency.

“Sharing knowledge is not about giving people something, or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing. Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes.” -Peter Senge

“straws akimbo” by Darwin Bell

The AASL Smackdown whistle of power

Frances Harris — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:48:18 +0000

Since I’m sort of a newbie when it comes to smackdown events, rather than offering to be one of the gurus sharing cool tools, I volunteered to be the timekeeper. That’s right, the heavy. It’ll be me blowing the whistle when time is up for each frenzied segment of sharing. We’ll be featuring 2.0 tools for reading promotion, digital storytelling, information fluency, and digital citizenship. The fact is, panel members and participants will have so much to share on these topics that each is destined to run overtime. So I did what I had to do: I asked my assistant principal if I could bring her whistle. Yes, the whistle that strikes fear (or at least immediate response) in the hearts of all our students. The Kovacs Whistle. I could only improve on that by bringing the Kovacs Voice, but someone’s got to stay home and play with the kids.

Get a sneak preview of the session by taking a peek at the session wiki – you’ll see how hard it’s going to be for me to keep everyone on task!

Author Pit Stop – Darick Allan

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:49:59 +0000

Darick Allan